


Boredom

by Suspicious_Popsicle



Category: Nightrunner Series - Lynn Flewelling
Genre: Canon Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 08:30:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9811358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suspicious_Popsicle/pseuds/Suspicious_Popsicle
Summary: A mix of fluff and Seregil being a bit melancholy, set between books 2 and 3.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The characters and settings in this story are from Lynn Flewelling’s Nightrunner series and do not belong to me.

The rain was a steady wash of sound outside, nearly enough to cover the whisper of Alec's work as he sat on their bed, trimming feathers for fletching. Spring had come blessedly early after a lean winter in their isolated cabin. Both of them were a bit thinner, but Alec was already having luck bringing in fresh meat, and Seregil was simply glad to feel warm again after months of bone-deep cold. Even now, the rain only turned the close atmosphere inside the cabin muggy rather than cool. Seregil stretched out on the furs in front of the stone fireplace and briefly contemplated getting up to light a fire. Restless as he felt, the idea couldn't draw him up. There was mending to be done, his knife needed sharpening, and neither of them had made a start on preparing dinner, despite the fact that afternoon was steadily creeping into evening. The thought of doing any of that was unappealing.

Alec was wholly focused on his task. Head bent over an arrow held in a bubble of amber lamplight, he looked like a golden statue come to life. Seregil envied him that absorption in his work. Like him, Alec was happiest when occupied. Unlike Seregil, however, he wasn't the type to be too picky about his work. Although there was still no question of returning to Rhiminee and perhaps never would be, Seregil found himself craving... _something_ outside the rustic living he'd been growing accustomed to. It was peaceful here, and he appreciated that, appreciated that if he just kept himself away from trouble and away from those loved ones he always seemed to drag into trouble, then maybe nothing could go wrong. Still....

Still....

“There may be a couple of coneys in the snares,” Alec said.

It was clear that the observation was meant as a suggestion that he go check, but the mere thought of getting up and putting on a cloak and boots and going out into the downpour to get soaked on the chance of finding supper was wearying. Seregil made a non-committal noise and rolled over, trying to get comfortable. A few minutes of silence passed before Alec spoke again.

“I noticed that Cynril's tack needed some mending. It's on the table.”

Seregil had noticed, as well, and he'd seen Alec fetch it in before the storm had broken. He stayed where he was, and began whistling a ballad. By the second verse, he was bored with it already, and tried for a different tune. That one held his interest a little longer, but Alec must not have cared for it. With a sigh, he set his shafts and feathers aside and crossed the small distance between them. Rather than settling on the furs at his side as Seregil had expected, Alec knelt on top of him, straddling his waist, and staring calmly into his eyes. The melody died on Seregil's lips.

“Talí?”

“I thought maybe I could help you get over your restlessness, since you don't seem interested in doing it yourself.”

He chuckled. “Been fidgeting too much, have I?”

“No.”

Alec's searching gaze was intense, and Seregil realized belatedly that some of what he had been feeling must have slipped along the bond between them. It wasn't the first time that Seregil's boredom had overwhelmed him. They'd had discussions before about returning to their old life, few of which had ended well, and Alec, bless him, had apparently decided to try a different tack this time around.

Slowly, Alec dipped his head. Expecting a kiss, Seregil was surprised when his lover instead nudged his head back and nipped lightly at his throat. A shiver ran through him and his eyes fluttered shut as Alec's lips closed over the spot, soft after the pinch of teeth. Alec did it again and again, following the curve of Seregil's jaw to a spot just beneath his ear that sent pleasurable thrills all through him as Alec lingered there, marking him.

When Alec lifted his head, checking to see what reaction his affections had earned, Seregil couldn't resist the urge to tease him. He arched an eyebrow, drawing on years of experience acting out roles to keep his expression calm and his voice cool.

“Alec, are you trying to seduce me?”

He must have played it too seriously. Color suffused Alec's cheeks, and he dropped his gaze and made to move away. Chuckling, Seregil caught his arm and pulled him back.

“No, no, talí, that won't do.” Sure that Alec was no longer about to retreat back to his arrows, Seregil lay back, smiling invitingly up at him. "It's no fair abandoning the game once you've started it."

“Since when do you care about playing fair?”

Despite Alec's grumbling, the way his eyes lingered on Seregil showed his interest plainly. He toyed with the lacing of Seregil's shirt. The collar was already loose, displaying a hint of his chest and the scarred skin over his breastbone. The mark never failed to remind Seregil of things he'd rather have left buried in the past, but he could almost forget it was there when Alec looked at him with such desire in his eyes. A rush of love and affection and need so strong that it was almost painful swamped him, and Seregil couldn't tell if the feelings were his own, or if he'd felt them from Alec via their bond, or if it was some mix of the two. He wondered what he had ever done to deserve such luck, and wriggled his hips as he grinned crookedly up at his talímenios.

“Setting aside the question of playing fair...” He stretched his arms up over his head and let them come to rest against the furs. The movement pulled his shirt higher, covering some of what his loose collar had revealed, and he nearly laughed at the flash of frustration that crossed Alec's face. “...I believe you were seducing me?”

Alec rolled his eyes, lips quirked in a crooked smile. For a long moment, he simply gazed down at Seregil, drinking in the sight of him, perhaps wondering where to start. He leaned closer, hands alighting on Seregil's arms. His touch was no heavier than a light breeze as his fingers skimmed over the curve of elbows, traced in along the undersides of Seregil's forearms. Warm and callused, Alec's palms came to rest past the ends of Seregil's loose sleeves, against the soft skin of his wrists.

There was no hint of restraint in his touch, but still Seregil grinned wickedly up at him as he murmured teasingly: “You've got me at your mercy.”

Alec snorted. He wasn't playing the same game. Cradling one of Seregil's hands in his, he lifted it to place a gentle kiss on the inside of his wrist. His lips tickled against the hollow of Seregil's palm, then moved on as he kissed his way up to the tip of each finger in turn. His eyes were closed, but he must have felt some echo of the effect he was having across their bond, because he paused suddenly and smiled against Seregil's skin.

“Are you happy, talí?”

The question slipped from Seregil's lips before he could even think to hold it back. Truthfully, he'd been wondering for some time. Their bond let him understand Alec in a way that no one else ever could, but it wasn't always a substitute for words. He took his hand away from Alec's mouth to caress his lover's face and tangle his fingers in thick, golden hair. Alec had opened his eyes at the question and was studying him. Shadows deepened the evening blue of his eyes to midnight, and the light from oil lamps glinted like stars in their depths.

“I'm happy with you,” he said finally.

Seregil brushed a hank of hair away from Alec's face, watching him closely and knowing the truth even as he persisted. “Do you miss our old life?” His heart sank a bit as Alec sighed.

“Sometimes.” He closed his eyes again, catching Seregil's hand and turning his face to nuzzle against it and kiss his palm. “We've got plenty of time, talí. Maybe one day, we'll go back to it.”

Maybe one day Seregil would no longer be the broken man who had tried to skulk off from his friends at Watermead, he meant. Seregil shoved the bitter thought away, and with it the fear that he might never be ready to go back to the life he had left behind.

If Alec noticed, he said nothing about it. Instead, he lowered his head, pressing his lips tenderly to Seregil's. The gesture was sweet and chaste, an utterly simple expression of love that reminded Seregil with a pang of their very first kiss. He ran his hands over Alec's shoulders, over his back and sides, counting ribs beneath his fingers and remembering the exhausted, trembling boy who had clung to him on a rocky shore in Plenimar. Alec wasn't trembling, now. He was lean after a tough winter, but not half-starved. His movements were relaxed and sure as he deepened the kiss, lips parting in invitation. He was warm and solid in Seregil's arms. A blessing. A miracle.

_Take what the Lightbearer sends._

Hugging Alec close, Seregil rolled to pin him against the furs. He grinned into the kiss, delighting in Alec's muffled laughter at his sudden ardor. In moments, he had Alec stripped of his shirt, and if Seregil wasn't quite so gentle as Alec had been as he lavished attention upon his talímenios's neck, there was certainly no loss of affection. Alec was in need of a bath—they both were—but the scent of his body was more arousing than any perfume, the sound of his laughter in between gasps more alluring than the passionate whispers of a hundred previous lovers. Seregil breathed him in, fumbled off their clothes to touch him skin to skin, drank down his moans, the sweat of his skin, the feel of his racing pulse, until all the empty places deep inside him were filled with Alec. He threw himself into lovemaking with all the zeal he'd brought to nightrunning, and promised himself that just being there with Alec, sharing a quiet life with his love, would be enough.

He was almost able to believe it.

 


End file.
